Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are back. Together. Just three weeks before India’s next ODI series.
After a two-month gap that had fans genuinely wondering, BCCI’s September 16 announcement settled the question fast — both veterans are in for the three-match India vs West Indies ODI series, alongside a squad that’s got at least one selection call nobody saw coming. Get online cricket ID and start your game today!
Here’s everything that actually matters before the series kicks off.
The Comeback Nobody Was Sure About
Rohit’s spot in India’s ODI plans has been a talking point for months, tied directly to his ambitions for the 2027 World Cup. Kohli’s return alongside him after the same break makes this genuinely one of the more-watched squad announcements of the year.
Quick take: Two senior returns in one squad isn’t just a selection footnote — it reshapes the entire batting order conversation heading into a home series.
Full ODI Squad Breakdown
India’s 15-member squad for the three-match ODI series:
● Shubman Gill (Captain)
● KL Rahul (Vice-Captain)
● Rohit Sharma
● Virat Kohli
● Ruturaj Gaikwad
● Dhruv Jurel
● Nitish Kumar Reddy
● Ravindra Jadeja
● Kuldeep Yadav
● Prasidh Krishna
● Gurnoor Brar● Mohammed Siraj
● Auqib Nabi
● Yashasvi Jaiswal
● Naman Dhir
Gill continuing as captain, with Rahul as his deputy, keeps some structural continuity even as the personnel around them shifts.
The Pant Shock — Who’s Really Behind the Stumps
This is the pick that actually surprised people. Rishabh Pant didn’t make the ODI squad. Dhruv Jurel gets the wicketkeeping gloves instead — not a like-for-like swap, but a real statement about where the selectors’ heads are right now. Pant hasn’t disappeared from the picture entirely — he’s captaining the Rest of India side in the Irani Cup during this window, which suggests workload management as much as form is part of this call.
Two Fresh Faces: Naman Dhir and Auqib Nabi
● Naman Dhir — Punjab all-rounder, gets his first taste of the format
● Auqib Nabi — Jammu & Kashmir seamer, a genuinely fresh face in the pace attack
Both call-ups say something about how selectors are actively widening the pool rather than sticking purely to reputation.
Full T20I Squad — Iyer’s Side Looks Different
The five-match T20I squad, led by Shreyas Iyer with Tilak Varma as vice-captain, includes:
● Abhishek Sharma
● Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
● Ishan Kishan (WK)
● Sanju Samson (WK)
● Shivam Dube
● Kuldeep Yadav
● Axar Patel
● Washington Sundar
● Ravi Bishnoi
● Nitish Kumar Reddy
● Arshdeep Singh
● Prince Yadav
● Mayank Yadav
Notice Kuldeep Yadav and Nitish Kumar Reddy show up in both squads — genuine format-crossers this series.
Why Two Squads Exist at the Exact Same Time
Here’s the part most previews skip: India’s Asian Games squad (also led by Shreyas Iyer) is playing in Japan from September 24 to October 3 — at the same time as the West Indies ODIs.
That’s why Nitish Kumar Reddy was specifically withdrawn from the Asian Games squad to play the ODIs instead, and why the Asian Games group includes names like Jasprit Bumrah, Vipraj Nigam, and Yash Thakur who aren’t in either West Indies squad at all.
This matters for reading team news: a player’s absence from one squad doesn’t mean injury or poor form — it might just mean they’re literally on a different continent that week.
Full Schedule & How to Follow the Series
ODIs:
● 1st ODI — September 27, Trivandrum
● 2nd ODI — September 30, Guwahati
● 3rd ODI — October 3, New Chandigarh
T20Is:
● 1st T20I — October 6, Lucknow
● 2nd T20I — October 9, Ranchi
● 3rd T20I — October 11, Indore
● 4th T20I — October 14, Hyderabad
● 5th T20I — October 17, Bengaluru
If you’re tracking this through an Online Cricket ID, both formats sit under the same account — no separate setup needed as the tour shifts from 50-over cricket to T20s in early October.
Ready to follow every twist of this series live? Get your Online Cricket ID set up before September 27 so you’re not scrambling on match day — the Rohit-Kohli reunion alone is worth watching from ball one.
This article is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute betting advice. Squad and schedule details are accurate as of the BCCI’s official announcement on September 16, 2026, and are subject to change. Online betting involves financial risk. 18+ only. Please gamble responsibly.